Dave Bing - National Basketball Association (NBA)

National Basketball Association (NBA)

Dave Bing
Shooting guard
Personal information
Born (1943-11-24) November 24, 1943 (age 69)
Washington, D.C.
Nationality American
High school Spingarn
Listed height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight 180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
College Syracuse (1963–1966)
NBA Draft 1966 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Pro career 1966–1978
League NBA
Career history
1966–1975 Detroit Pistons
1975–1977 Washington Bullets
1977–1978 Boston Celtics
Career highlights and awards
  • 7× NBA All-Star (1968–1969, 1971, 1973–1976)
  • NBA All-Star Game MVP (1976)
  • NBA Rookie of the Year (1967)
  • J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (1977)
  • 2× All-NBA First Team (1968, 1971)
  • All-NBA Second Team (1974)
  • NBA All-Rookie First Team (1967)
  • Consensus NCAA All-American First Team (1966)
  • NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
  • #21 Retired by the Detroit Pistons
  • #22 Retired by Syracuse Orange Basketball
Career NBA statistics
Points 18,327 (20.3 ppg)
Rebounds 3,420 (3.8 rpg)
Assists 5,397 (6.0 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player

Bing's playing style was somewhat unusual for the time. As a lean, athletic and explosive point guard, he functioned as the playmaker distributing the ball, but also did more shooting and scoring than most others who had this position. At one time a joke about him and his backcourt partner, Jimmy Walker, was that it was a shame they could only play the game with one ball at a time.

In 1966, Bing joined the NBA as a second overall first-round pick of the Detroit Pistons, where in his rookie year he scored 1,601 points (20.0 points per game) and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year. The next year, he led the NBA in scoring with 2,142 points (27.1 points per game) in 1968. Bing sat out 2½ months of the 1971-72 season due to a detached retina incurred from a preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers, playing in only 45 games that season. While with the Pistons, he played in seven NBA All-Star Games (1968, 1969, 1971–1976, and winning the 1976 NBA All-Star Game MVP Award) and was named to the All-NBA First Team twice in 1968 and 1969.

After his career with the Detroit Pistons, Bing went on to spend two years with the Washington Bullets and one with the Boston Celtics before retiring at the conclusion of the 1977–1978 season. He averaged 20.3 points and six assists per game in his 12 NBA seasons and was awarded the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 1977.

Bing was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990. In 1996, he was named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players.

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